Despite restrictions on women’s rights in Afghanistan imposed by the Taliban, the United Nations wants to continue its humanitarian aid operations in the country. “It’s important that we stay and continue to provide aid,” the United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Afghanistan, Ramiz Alakbarov, said yesterday in New York. The provision of food and medical care to people in need should not be subject to conditions.
Last week, the radical Islamist Taliban imposed a ban on women working in national and international humanitarian organizations. As a result, several NGOs suspended their work in Afghanistan. The Taliban had previously banned college women and high school girls. G-7 countries and the UN condemned the decisions and called for the measures to be withdrawn immediately.